The present invention relates to a holder for at least one capture device for collecting microdissected specimens cut out from a microscopic sample.
DE 100 57 292 C2 discloses an apparatus for receiving microdissected specimens, having at least one receptacle for collecting microdissected specimens, said apparatus being shiftable relative to an X/Y stage. In order to produce microdissected specimens, a laser beam is guided through the main objective of a microscope with which a prepared specimen is being examined or imaged. The prepared specimen is located as a rule on a suitable film, so that with the aid of the laser beam focused onto the film, a specimen region of interest can be cut out of the prepared specimen. The specimen region cut out in this fashion, i.e. the microdissected specimen that has been produced, falls into a container arranged below the prepared specimen. To allow reliable collection of the cut-out prepared specimen (typical diameters are between 10 and 50 μm) to be ensured, the container, specifically its opening, must be brought close enough to the prepared specimen. This action also ensures that undesired foreign particles present in the air do not get into the container.
The aforesaid DE 100 57 292 C2 provides for this purpose, between the prepared specimen and container, a contamination prevention plate which comprises a cutout that leaves open only the relevant container for the collection of microdissected specimens, while the other containers are covered. Each container is arranged in this case in a separate holding element; by pivoting of a holding element about an axis extending parallel to the X/Y stage, said element is pivotable from a position inclined with respect to the X/Y stage into a working position in which the upper rim of the container aligns with the plane defined by the contamination prevention plate.
WO 2008/034833 A2 relates to a microscope system having a microdissection device; the object to be achieved here is to separate living cells from a culture or an agglomerate, by microdissection and without contamination risks. For this purpose, microdissection is to occur in a sterile environment. A description is given of various types of devices for receiving biological material with which microdissection can be carried out in a sterile environment. One such device for receiving biological material involves, for example, a frame- or lattice-shaped sample carrier having stretched over it a film on whose side oriented toward the carrier are located the samples to be cut out. The interior space in which the samples are located can be kept sterile by means of a cover. Located on the other side, facing away from the carrier, is a capture device that is arranged congruently below the sample carrier. Located in the capture elements of the capture device is a nutrient medium for cultivating the living cells that represent the samples to be cut out. Once the sample (individual cells or a cell group) has been cut out by means of a focused laser beam, it falls under the influence of gravitational force into the capture element located therebelow. The sterile atmosphere can be maintained in this context if the capture device is joined fixedly, and in externally sealed fashion, to the sample carrier.
A variety of sample carriers and corresponding capture devices for microdissection are known. For example, multiple containers arranged in matrix fashion (e.g. so-called multiwell plates or multidishes), Petri dishes, or frames made of glass or metal with film stretched on them, are used as sample carriers. The multiple containers or Petri dishes have a bottom made of laser-cuttable film. The frames with film stretched on them often have a standard specimen slide size. Also known are specimen slides with film adhesively bonded to them, which are used for microdissection purposes in inverted fashion, i.e. with the film and sample facing downward. Multiple capture elements arranged in matrix fashion, or other differently shaped containers, for example so-called PCT tubes, can be used as capture devices. In the case of PCR tubes, the cover that closes off the tube is often used as a collection element. It is also possible to utilize coated slides in which, for example, the capture regions are provided with a nutrient medium while the other regions have an antibacterial coating.